Immediate Moments
He said to them,“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. - Matthew 4:19
“At once.” “Immediately.” I can’t help but think, how did the disciples do this? Did they really just up and leave everything?
Today’s Gospel reading definitely challenges me. In the Advent season of preparation, here is a passage that speaks to immediacy. I look back on all the times I’ve felt called in one way or another, and how much I hesitated through the process. I wanted things planned out, to have more courage, and so on. An experience recently though has begun to give me a deeper perspective.
Last month, I went to Barcelona for a few weeks. I’d been thinking about it for the past year not knowing why, but Covid and other things kept it from happening. One morning I came across an opportunity I could not say no to. Within 24 hours everything was booked. Everything seemed to fall into place.
Did I hope for some kind of big epiphany when I was there? Kind of. Did I think I’d have the next chapter of my life figured out by the time I got home? Maybe. Of course neither happened. I knew without a doubt though that I was meant to go, and that I had to go. I felt so alive and creative there, in a way I hadn’t felt in some time. As significant as the decision was, it also felt quick and simple. And then I realized, this was the same inclination I felt when I knew it was time to leave my job last year… and a few other times in my life before.
Perhaps this is the inclination that the disciples followed. Perhaps they felt a calling so strong within them when Jesus came by, that they could not say no. They went without wondering what the consequences would be or where it would lead to next. Perhaps they somehow trusted that everything would work itself out. Perhaps it was as simple as that, versus wondering how the rest of their lives would look from there.
What immediate moments have surfaced in my life? What nets am I holding onto? Where might I be invited to let go and follow Jesus more closely this Advent?
Quyen Nhi Ngo